Eyeglasses (aka glasses or spectacles) generally can be used for vision correction and/or eye protection from hazards such as UV light or sunlight. Modern eyeglasses generally comprise a pair of lenses mounted on an eyeglass frame which can be worn in front of the wearer's eyes. The eyeglass frame may be supported by pads on the bridge of the nose and/or by temples placed over the ears.
Eyeglass frames, which may comprise a frame front and/or temples, are generally made from plastic sheets, such as sheets of cellulose acetate, by die-cutting at a temperature at or above its softening point. In general, the softened plastic sheets are fitted into a blanking machine and then a die cuts through the plastic sheets to produce blank frame fronts and/or temples according to the design of the eyeglass frame. The blank frame fronts and/or temples are then removed from the plastic sheets, and the lens portions of the blank frame fronts are then discarded as scrap. The blank frame fronts and/or temples can then be finished by a series of operations such as producing grooves on the frame fronts for holding lenses by a cutting device such as a cutter or router; and removing rough edges by a tumbling machine, an abrasive machine, polishing machine, lapping machine or a combination thereof. Such operations generate a large amount of plastic waste, especially during blanking where the bulk of the waste is in the form of the lens portion of the frame.
Furthermore, consumers generally demand eyeglass frames having design patterns appealing to human eyes. However, design patterns produced by the current technologies, e.g., silk screen printing or injection molding with design patterns printed on an outer surface of the molded article, have low resolution. Another drawback of silk screen printing is that it requires different screens for different patterns. Further, the pattern layer produced by the current injection molding process is that the pattern layer is on the outer surface protected merely by a thin protecting layer. However, the protecting layer and thus the pattern layer are generally not durable and can be worn down over time and become unappealing. As a result, the current technologies not only have poor resolution or quality, but also are complex and expensive, and/or produces images and design patterns which are undurable.
Therefore, there is always a need for new methods for making eyeglass frames that are simple and inexpensive; that produce any desirable high-definition images that are durable and design patterns; and/or that reduce or eliminate plastic waste and thus costs during the manufacturing of the eyeglass frames.